1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of sensor devices and is particularly concerned with a sensor device and an analyzing device specifically adapted to be used in conjunction with diapers for incontinent patients detecting the presence of urine or fecal matter, and other physiological or biochemical data emanating from the patient.
2. Description of the Related Art
The demographical trend towards an older population has created a situation wherein a relatively large number of individuals suffers from incontinence. Furthermore, some of these patients have lost at least a portion of their cognitive functions. Such patients are often found in institutions where they are left alone for a relatively long period of time.
Accordingly, some of these patients wearing adult diapers are left for a relatively long period of time with the diaper soiled and unchanged.
Indeed, it is logistically relatively difficult for the personnel of such institutions to monitor the state of the patient""s diaper on a continuous basis.
A search amongst the prior art has revealed one system adapted to monitor the state of a patient lying in a bed. The device consists in a sheet of material having an electric sensor which sounds off an alarm when moisture is detected. However, the device must be embedded into a bed sheet and thus is not functional when the patient is not lying in the bed.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved sensor device in conjunction with diapers for incontinent patients.
Advantages of the present invention include the fact that the sensor device in accordance with the present invention can be readily mounted to conventional diapers so that the monitoring can be ferformed with the patient in various situations and positions.
Another advantage of the present invention resides in the fact that the sensor device in accordance with the present invention is adapted to transmit the sensed data to a remote analyzing system.
A further advantage of the present invention resides in the fact that the sensor device in accordance with the present invention is adapted to be coupled to a computer system that can monitor and analyse the various data so as to manipulate the information and extract various types of valuable data.
A still further advantage of the present invention resides in the fact that the sensor device in accordance with the present invention is adapted to sense both variations in moisture and in temperature as well as other physiological data such as the glucose level of the urine from the patient or other biochemical data emanating from the patient.